Cultural Differences
by MoiPunk
Summary: A tale about how Chen met Clouse, and the different worlds they're from.
1. Chapter 1

It was entirely coincidental Chen was in the forest that day.

He had spent the last couple of months alone in his monastery and his life had become a bit of a boring routine. Chen knew of nothing worse than being bored and had immediately decided something new needed to happen.

As such he packed a small bag of food and water and went into the forest to do some training.

It was a cold autumn day, not at all ideal for outside training. But it had been something different, enough to keep him entertained for a couple of hours.

When twilight fell, he had been on his way back home. Suddenly he stopped dead in his track, staring in-between the tress in the distance. A strange green glow had caught his attention. It had only been visible for a moment, but long enough for Chen to notice it. He trusted his senses enough he couldn't believe it to be something he had imagined.

Chen had always been a curious person by nature. Curiosity often led to a lot of fun, as long as one wasn't reckless, and Chen knew of nothing as great as having fun. Besides, he was strong and well-spoken and despite being in quite a few dangerous situations in his lifetime, he had always come out of it alive. He didn't think twice about letting his curiosity lead him anymore.

Slowly and without making any noise, he went to the place he had seen the strange glow. At firste he couldn't see anything. Despite it being autumn, a lot of the treetops were still dense enough to cover the sky up. Chen kept going, certain he would find something.

Deeper in between the trees was a small clearing. Chen stopped just short of it, scouting it. He felt a small jolt go through him as he finally found something of interest.

In the middle of the clearing, lying in the grass, was a young man. He was on his side, almost completely crumpled into a fetal position, his hand pressed into his own body.

The young man was dressed in clothing Chen could tell was not from around these parts of ninjago, all of it was ruined and dirty and even laying down, Chen could tell it was hanging loosely from his body. Generally, Chen could tell the man was filthy, his long black hair hung in greasy clumps down his face.

Though it was weak, Chen could certainly tell the strange glow he had seen had come from the stranger. His hand still emitted a faint light of green. Chen immeadiaetly made the conclusion it had be to magic.

A long time ago, Chen had been studying magic himself. Despite his efforts, he had never been able to master it, not even the tiniest fraction of it. At the time he had been told it was due to the fact he hadn't been born with the gift of magic, he didn't possess the ability naturally, and as such he would never be able to use any magic without the help of magical artefacts.

And then here was a much younger man who obliviously possessed this gift, a gift Chen knew very well could be very powerful, and even more useful, with the right training.

Chen felt his curiosity rise even more. He slowly approached the young man wanting to find out more. He had never been one to pass up opportunities, and this was certainly an opportunity by all of his definitions.

He deliberately stepped on a big, old branch a good distance from the other. The branch cracked in two with a loud noise and alerted the other to his presence. The stranger didn't look like he was in any condition to fight, or run for that matter, at least physically he was obviously not in any state to do any sort of harm, but Chen didn't want any magic thrown in the face.

Until he was absolutely certain the other wasn't hostile, he was going to shown caution.

The way the young man reacted to his approach, was a bit like a wild animal. His upper body shot up at the noise from the branch. The moment he spotted Chen, his eyes grew wide and he started pulling himself backwards on weak arm until he backed himself up against a tree. There he remained, trembling in fear. His magic had disappeared the moment his attention had been directed towards the approached and despite Chen getting closer, he didn't lift his hands or make any indication he was going to do more magic. Chen took it he wasn't going to get his face magically burned off on this day.

"Good evening" Chen said, a friendly smile on his face.

He stopped a respectfully distance from the other, awaiting his response.

None came.

Chen looked at the other for a moment, then he reached into his bag, pulling out some leftovers from the meal he had brought for himself.

"You look hungry" Chen noted nonchalantly and threw a large piece of fish meat to the other.

For a moment nothing happened, then the other took the fish, lifting it to his face and looking at it like he has no clue what is was. He stuck out his tongue tasting it, then shoving the entire thing into his mouth like a starving animal.

Chen wasn't one to show kindness towards his fellow man. In fact, he quite often looked down on those who did.

But he had learned a bit of kindness was often a better tool for getting others to do what he wanted. People were a lot more cooperate when thinking one meant well. As such he wasn't giving the other man food out of a good heart or empathy, but rather because he felt like violence wasn't going to get him the information he wanted.

"Tell me your name and I'll give you some more to eat" Chen said, shaking his bag slightly.

A few seconds went by, the two were just staring at each other. Chen started thinking the other wasn't capable of talking.

"Clouse" the young man then finally said "My name is Clouse".

"Hello Clouse" Chen said, throwing him some more fish.

Clouse ate the piece of food as quickly as he had eaten the first one. Chen waited patiently for him to finish. He was just about to say something, but Clouse beat him to it.

"Whatever you want… just take it and leave… please" he said and hung his head in a defeated manner. The last word had been little more than a whipser

The sentence struck Chen as being odd. Clouse obliviously had nothing beyond the his dirty, ruined clothes. Nothing worth any value, nothing worth stealing. Unless one could steal his abilities, but Chen doubted it.

"I want to know who taught you magic".

Clouse gave him a wide eyed look, then his eyes started darting from side to side nervously as if the mere mention of his abilities made him uncomfortable.

"I… I wasn't taught, it's just something I do. I have always been able to do… things" his voice started quivering as he continued "I… I know I shouldn't do it. It was just… I was freezing, it was cold, I just needed the warmth…".

"Who told you, you shouldn't use magic?" Chen asked.

He personally didn't understand why anyone wouldn't use such a gift, he would personally use it for a lot more than keeping himself warm.

"I…" Clouse began but then shut his lips thight. Something in his eyes told Chen he was reliving something unpleasant.

Chen tried piercing some information together. Clouse's pale skin and the way his clothing looked clearly indicated he was not from around these parts, but rather from the northern parts of Ninjago, far from these eastern parts he was currently in.

Magic was generally not reputable in Ninjago, it was considered to be an imitation of the natural and pure elements traditionally considered to be related to the creation of Ninjago as known in the myth of the first spinjitsu master, but even then, magic was far more accepted in the eastern than the northern parts of Ninjago. Chen knew not why, something to do with culture probably. He had read quite a few tales about people with magical abilities getting cats out from society or even burnt a fire in northern Ninjago, chance were a person from those parts, with magical abilities, would probably being just a bit nervous about spilling the beans.

However, things were different in these parts.

"Magic is a gift, one you should not be afried to use" Chan told Clouse, who in turn stared back at him like he was speaking nonsense "It's just part of who you are, nothing to feel bad".

Clouse took a deep breath.

"I… I can't control it. I hurt people" he said, the last of his words once again being little more than a whisper.

Chen got closer to Clouse. He leaned down, pushing some of the filthy hair out of the other man's face. Clouse stiffened, like he wasn't comfortable being touched, but he didn't put up any resistance.

Chen couldn't help his smile. Whenever one was incapable of doing something, the next best thing would be to have someone in one's possession who wasn't.

"You can learn how to" Chen said, giving the other soft smile.

Clouse stared back at him with conflicting eyes.

"I've got a place not far from here. You could come with me, then I could teach you a thing or two" Chen continued.

He dumped the last pieces of food he had down in Clouse's lap. Partly to emphasize his good intentions towards the other, partly because he had a feeling Clouse hadn't really experienced a lot of kindness lately and then a just a bit of kindness would probably make him take the bait.

Everything was quiet for a bit. Clouse was obliviously trying to considering the risk of going with Chen, this stranger he had just met.

Chen on his part had to bite back on a sour remark, he felt annoyed his offer even had to be considered. The other would have to be a complete idiot choosing the forest, all alone and completely helpless, rather than roof over the head.

Luckily Clouse wasn't a complete idiot. He took the bite and gave Chen a nod. Chen felt a spark of joy within. This was going to be a lot of fun.


	2. Chapter 2

Getting Clouse home proved to be a bit of a challenge.

The young man was willing to follow Chen, but his body was weak from starvation and he was barely dragging himself along as the two started walking through the forest. They had only gotten a short distance when Chen had to support him, then he had to outright carry him on his back like a baby.

Luckily Clouse was quite small and his thin body made him easy to carry around. Still, the journey back home felt a lot longer than it should have and Chen continually had to keep himself from throwing the younger man off his back and tell him to pull himself together.

Back at the monastery Chen dropped off Clouse on the bed in one of the many unoccupied spare rooms. Clouse was already fast asleep. He didn't even wake from being thrown down on the bed. Chen threw a blanket on top of the other, then went to his own bedroom and fell asleep himself.

The next morning, Chen got up and made breakfast as usual.

He had always been extremely good in a kitchen and it was one of the few places in the monastery he always kept clean and well-organized.

He made some normal breakfast for himself but in addition he made an extra serving of rice and sprinkled it with some chopped, vitamin-rich herbs.

The day before, on the way home, Clouse had thrown up all of the food Chen had given him. Chen had found out the young man hadn't had any proper food in a long time, his body apparently deciding the stuff he had eaten had been dangerous and rejecting it.

Chen understood he couldn't simply offer Clouse normal food. He had to start with smaller meals until he was back on his feet again.

Once Chen had eaten his own breakfast, he went to the room Clouse was in.

The other was awake, his eyes obviously open, but he still seemed tired and in need of more rest. The room already stunk from the smell clinging to his filthy body.

The moment Chen entered Clouse sat up weakly, his body clearly straining from the simple action. He was handed the bowl of rice, taking it and staring at it with an odd expression.

Chen was just about to feel offended when he remembered Clouse was from another place entirely and perhaps hadn't seen rice before.

"It's food. Eat it, it's good" Chen insured him.

Clouse started looking around, Lifting the bowl and looking underneath it too.

"With what?"

"Use your fingers… Wait, hold on".

Chen left the room then came back a few moments later with a bowl of hot water, a bar of soap and a small piece of cloth.

He helped Clouse wash his hands, the water instantly getting dirty. Chen changed it and redid it all. Once Clouse's hand were clean, Chen felt satisfied and let him have his meal.

Clouse dug his fingers into the rice like a child who had to eat on its own for the first time. He put a small ball into his mouth and started chewing in a strange fashion, as if the consistency of the food was entirely new to him.

Chen sat at the edge of the bed, watching the other eat in mild amusement. He asked whatever Clouse had really never eaten rice before. People in Clouse's village, as it turned out, primarily ate wheat. Clouse had been used to eating porridge and bread, never any rice.

Chen kept questioning the food culture in Clouse's hometown, trying to decipher exactly how different their eating habits were. Clouse didn't know about the majority of the things Chen asked him about, Chen in turn knew about quite a lot of the things Clouse mentioned but only from reading about it.

As Clouse finished his meal, Chen took the bowl from him and got off the bed. He was almost at the door again when he realized Clouse was attempting to get up, probably wanting to follow him.

"Don't. You need the rest, stay in bed for now" Chen ordered him.

Clouse fell back into onto the bed, an almost thankful expression on his face.

The rest of the day went by like any other would prior to Chen meeting Clouse, the only exception being Chen would check up on his guest now and then. The young man was either sleeping or simply idling in bed. Chen bought food twice more, both times simple rice to make sure Clouse would be able to keep it down.

The next two days cycled in the same manner, with Chen brining food to Clouse who would remain in bed recovering but otherwise not do much.

Chen felt slightly annoyed by Clouse being in bed doing nothing, it really wasn't any fun, but he knew the other needed to recover before they could get started on anything. Finally having a person with magic abilities would be no use if said person died from overexploitation.

It was too precious of an opportunity to waste it on wanting to get started quickly.

On the third day Chen decided it was time for Clouse to get out of bed or he would rust solid to it.

He still hadn't had a bathroom visit and Chen had been dreading having to deal with any potential accidents. Luckily nothing had happened.

In the morning, as he bought Clouse his meal like he normally would, he also told him it was about time he had himself a trip to the toilet and a bath. Clouse agreed entirely, obviously not fond of the smell from his own body either.

That morning he got out of bed, for the first time since his arrival, and followed Chen.

Chen's monastery was very old and the kitchen was the only room which had been updated in any way. Every other room stood as it did the day the place had been built.

Ninjago was expecting a technological evolution and yet Chen felt no need to replace anything as long as the things he knew were still functionally.

Chen led Clouse to one of the many small bathrooms in the building. During the walk the young man was looking around, eyes wide with fascination.

Then, in front of the toilet, eyes wide in disbelief.

"That's a toilet?" he asked, staring down at the hole in the floor, "How do you sit down?"

"You don't sit down, you squat" Chen answered, not sure whatever he should be amused or feel ill having to explain how to use a toilet.

When Clouse didn't move at all, Chen reluctantly illustrated. He squatted down above the hole, resting his arms on his thighs. He felt silly squatting down like that while fully clothed.

"See? Easy."

Clouse just kept staring at the hole. Chen got up.

"Once you've done your business, you shower it down with water and it all wash away, ready for use once more" Chen said gesturing to a bucket full of water a bit form the hole.

"That's… disgusting" Clouse whimpered, staring at the hole like it had personally offended him.

"Clouse, you are literally covered in filth" Chen snorted then gave a playful shove as the other hung his head in shame "Whatever is going to come from you is no worse than what is already on you".

Chen headed for the door. Clouse still wasn't moving at all.

"Once you've finished, we'll get you cleaned up" Chen said as an odd sort of indorsement. He then left Clouse to do whatever he needed to do.

Almost an hour and a half went by before Clouse finally showed up again. Chen had been entertained by the idea the young man had fallen in the toilet and then troubled by the thought he had just given up and died in place. He was happy to conclude neither had happened.

Chen led Clouse to another bathroom this time, the one with the actual bath in it. It was a tub build in the centre of the room, meant to resemble a public bath somewhat.

Chen ran the water and gathered some basic necessities as the other man started undressing in the far off corner, showing obvious signs of embarrassment.

He was down to his undershirt and shorts when he just stopped, throwing Chen a shy glance.

"What?" Chen said.

Clouse's eyes darted from Chen to the door. He then turned back around and undressed completely, quickly jumping into the tub and pulling up his legs as to cover himself up. Only then did Chen understand.

Chen had grown up with public bathhouses and generally didn't mind nudity at all. Clouse on the other hand, obviously felt uncomfortable undressing and being naked in front of another person. Chen bit back a fun remark about the young man not having anything he hadn't seen before.

The water in the tub had to be changed twice and almost an entire bar of soap was used up in the process of cleaning Clouse. To be honest, Chen really didn't have much reason to help Clouse clean himself, he just found it amusing how uncomfortable and odd the other man acted. As if nudity wasn't entirely natural.

A large part of Clouse's black hair, which had been tangled together in a big knot, had to be cut off. The remaining hair got shampooed and conditioned three times until a brush would go through it. When Clouse was finally let out of the tub again, he was an entirely new person.

"Look at you, back from the dead" Chen laughed, watching the other put his black hair in knot on the back of his head. Chen had given him an old set of clothes. It hung from the young man even more than his own set did, as Chen was noticeably larger, but was much more appealing to look at.

The old set had been thrown into a fire.

Chen had given Clouse permission to move into another one of the unused spare rooms, the old one having the stank of Clouse's filthy former self permanently stuck in the bedclothes. They had been thrown on the fire alongside Clouse's old clothes.

Clouse looked at himself in the mirror deep in thought. He turned around, looking back at Chen who was still watching him.

"Chen… I… Thank you" Clouse said, unsure how to express his immense thankfulness.

Chen gave Clouse a small smile. He sensed a seed of loyalty had been sown within the young man. Such things meant more to him than simple thanks. Clouse's real thankfulness was going to be put to the test soon enough.

For now, Chen gave the other a small pad on the shoulder and told him to head back into bed.

As Chen left the room, he started planning how Clouse would be of use to him.


End file.
